It is of strong public concern to protect minors from harmful contents. This is especially true for TV content. Programmes recorded on an optical disc or broadcasted via digital TV, such as according to a DVB standard for example often contain parental rating information. The parental rating corresponds to information for each video programme indicating the acceptability for children of a certain age. This is a recommendation for a minimum age a person should have to watch a programme. Different technologies to identify harmful content in broadcasted programmes are available, e.g. v-chip technology. In many recording and/or reproduction apparatuses a parental level which corresponds to the parental level of the user can be set. The parental level of the user defines movies which are suitable for the user according to their parental ratings. Programmes having parental ratings which are not allowed by the parental level of the recording and/or reproduction apparatus are not recorded and/or reproduced. The change of the parental level of the recording and/or reproduction apparatus is password locked.
With the increased use of recording apparatus for receiving broadcasted TV programmes, for example DVB programmes and for recording them one large media, for example HDD or Blue ray discs, which can store several different programmes having different parental ratings, there is a need to manage such recordings. This is especially true for long recordings wherein several programmes are recorded without making a user action necessary between the single programmes.
EP-A2-1455359 shows a method and apparatus for managing the parental rating information of an optical disc. The method and apparatus allows the user to set and modify a parental rating information during or after a recording is made and to store it on a rewriteable or write-once optical disc. The user does not rely on the rating provided by the programme but can define the parental rating of a movie according to personal beliefs after or during a recording is generated.